The Bahamas is de site of Cowumbus's first wandfaww in de New Worwd in 1492. At dat time, de iswands were inhabited by de Lucayans, a branch of de Arawakan-speaking Taíno peopwe. Awdough de Spanish never cowonised The Bahamas, dey shipped de native Lucayans to swavery in Hispaniowa. The iswands were mostwy deserted from 1513 untiw 1648, when Engwish cowonists from Bermuda settwed on de iswand of Eweudera.

The Bahamas became a Britishcrown cowony in 1718, when de British cwamped down on piracy. After de American War of Independence, de Crown resettwed dousands of American Loyawists in de Bahamas; dey brought deir swaves wif dem and estabwished pwantations on wand grants. Africans constituted de majority of de popuwation from dis period. The swave trade was abowished by de British in 1807; swavery in de Bahamas was abowished in 1834. Subseqwentwy, de Bahamas became a haven for freed African swaves; de Royaw Navy resettwed Africans dere wiberated from iwwegaw swave ships, Norf American swaves and Seminowes escaped here from Fworida, and de government freed swaves carried on US domestic ships dat had reached de Bahamas due to weader. Today, Afro-Bahamians make up nearwy 90% of de popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

The Bahamas became an independent Commonweawf reawm in 1973, retaining de British monarch, den and currentwy Queen Ewizabef II, as its head of state. In terms of gross domestic product per capita, The Bahamas is one of de richest countries in de Americas (fowwowing de United States and Canada), wif an economy based on tourism and finance.[11]

The name Bahamas is most wikewy derived from eider de Taínoba ha ma ("big upper middwe wand"), which was a term for de region used by de indigenous Native Americans,[12] or possibwy from de Spanishbaja mar ("shawwow water or sea" or "wow tide") refwecting de shawwow waters of de area. Awternativewy, it may originate from Guanahani, a wocaw name of uncwear meaning.[13]

A pecuwiarity of de name is dat de word The constitutes an integraw part of de short form of de name and is, derefore, capitawised. So in contrast to "de Congo" and "de United Kingdom", it is proper to write "The Bahamas." The name The Bahamas is dus comparabwe wif certain non-Engwish names dat awso use de definite articwe, such as Las Vegas or Los Angewes. The Constitution of de Commonweawf of The Bahamas, de country's fundamentaw waw, capitawizes de "T" in "The Bahamas."[14]

A depiction of Cowumbus's first wanding, cwaiming possession of de New Worwd for Spain in caravews; de Niña and de Pinta, on Watwing Iswand, an iswand of The Bahamas dat de natives cawwed Guanahani and dat he named San Sawvador, on 12 October 1492.[15]

Taino peopwe moved into de uninhabited soudern Bahamas from Hispaniowa and Cuba around de 11f century, having migrated dere from Souf America. They came to be known as de Lucayan peopwe. An estimated 30,000 Lucayans inhabited de Bahamas at de time of Christopher Cowumbus's arrivaw in 1492.

Cowumbus's first wandfaww in de New Worwd was on an iswand he named San Sawvador (known to de Lucayans as Guanahani). Some researchers bewieve dis site to be present-day San Sawvador Iswand (formerwy known as Watwing's Iswand), situated in de soudeastern Bahamas. An awternative deory howds dat Cowumbus wanded to de soudeast on Samana Cay, according to cawcuwations made in 1986 by Nationaw Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge, based on Cowumbus's wog. Evidence in support of dis remains inconcwusive. On de wandfaww iswand, Cowumbus made first contact wif de Lucayans and exchanged goods wif dem.

The Spanish forced much of de Lucayan popuwation to Hispaniowa for use as forced wabour. The swaves suffered from harsh conditions and most died from contracting diseases to which dey had no immunity; hawf of de Taino died from smawwpox awone.[16] The popuwation of de Bahamas was severewy diminished.[17]

During de US War of Independence in de wate 18f century, de iswands became a target for US navaw forces under de command of Commodore Esek Hopkins. US Marines occupied de capitaw of Nassau for a fortnight or 2 weeks.

After US independence, de British resettwed some 7,300 Loyawists wif deir swaves in de Bahamas, incwuding two dousand from New York[20] and at weast 1,033 whites, 2,214 bwacks and a few Creeks from East Fworida. Most of de refugees resettwed from New York had fwed from oder cowonies, incwuding West Fworida, which de Spanish captured during de war.[21] The government granted wand to de pwanters to hewp compensate for wosses on de continent. These Loyawists, who incwuded Deveaux, estabwished pwantations on severaw iswands and became a powiticaw force in de capitaw. European Americans were outnumbered by de African-American swaves dey brought wif dem, and ednic Europeans remained a minority in de territory.

In 1807, de British abowished de swave trade, fowwowed by de United States de next year. During de fowwowing decades, de Royaw Navy intercepted de trade; dey resettwed in de Bahamas dousands of Africans wiberated from swave ships.

In de 1820s during de period of de Seminowe Wars in Fworida, hundreds of Norf American swaves and African Seminowes escaped from Cape Fworida to de Bahamas. They settwed mostwy on nordwest Andros Iswand, where dey devewoped de viwwage of Red Bays. From eyewitness accounts, 300 escaped in a mass fwight in 1823, aided by Bahamians in 27 swoops, wif oders using canoes for de journey. This was commemorated in 2004 by a warge sign at Biww Baggs Cape Fworida State Park.[22][23] Some of deir descendants in Red Bays continue African Seminowe traditions in basket making and grave marking.[24]

The United States' Nationaw Park Service, which administers de Nationaw Underground Raiwroad Network to Freedom, is working wif de African Bahamian Museum and Research Center (ABAC) in Nassau on devewopment to identify Red Bays as a site rewated to Norf American swaves' search for freedom. The museum has researched and documented de African Seminowes' escape from soudern Fworida. It pwans to devewop interpretive programs at historicaw sites in Red Bay associated wif de period of deir settwement in de Bahamas.[25]

In 1818,[26] de Home Office in London had ruwed dat "any swave brought to de Bahamas from outside de British West Indies wouwd be manumitted." This wed to a totaw of nearwy 300 swaves owned by US nationaws being freed from 1830 to 1835.[27] The American swave ships Comet and Encomium used in de United States domestic coastwise swave trade, were wrecked off Abaco Iswand in December 1830 and February 1834, respectivewy. When wreckers took de masters, passengers and swaves into Nassau, customs officers seized de swaves and British cowoniaw officiaws freed dem, over de protests of de Americans. There were 165 swaves on de Comet and 48 on de Encomium. The United Kingdom finawwy paid an indemnity to de United States in dose two cases in 1855, under de Treaty of Cwaims of 1853, which settwed severaw compensation cases between de two countries.[28][29]

Swavery was abowished in de British Empire on 1 August 1834. After dat British cowoniaw officiaws freed 78 Norf American swaves from de Enterprise, which went into Bermuda in 1835; and 38 from de Hermosa, which wrecked off Abaco Iswand in 1840.[30] The most notabwe case was dat of de Creowe in 1841: as a resuwt of a swave revowt on board, de weaders ordered de US brig to Nassau. It was carrying 135 swaves from Virginia destined for sawe in New Orweans. The Bahamian officiaws freed de 128 swaves who chose to stay in de iswands. The Creowecase has been described as de "most successfuw swave revowt in U.S. history".[31]

These incidents, in which a totaw of 447 swaves bewonging to US nationaws were freed from 1830 to 1842, increased tension between de United States and de United Kingdom. They had been co-operating in patrows to suppress de internationaw swave trade. However, worried about de stabiwity of its warge domestic swave trade and its vawue, de United States argued dat de United Kingdom shouwd not treat its domestic ships dat came to its cowoniaw ports under duress, as part of de internationaw trade. The United States worried dat de success of de Creowe swaves in gaining freedom wouwd encourage more swave revowts on merchant ships.

In August 1940, de Duke of Windsor was appointed Governor of de Bahamas. He arrived in de cowony wif his wife, de Duchess. Awdough disheartened at de condition of Government House, dey "tried to make de best of a bad situation".[32] He did not enjoy de position, and referred to de iswands as "a dird-cwass British cowony".[33]

He opened de smaww wocaw parwiament on 29 October 1940. The coupwe visited de "Out Iswands" dat November, on Axew Wenner-Gren's yacht, which caused controversy;[34] de British Foreign Office strenuouswy objected because dey had been advised (mistakenwy) by United States intewwigence dat Wenner-Gren was a cwose friend of de Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring of Nazi Germany.[34][35]

The Duke was praised at de time for his efforts to combat poverty on de iswands. A 1991 biography by Phiwip Ziegwer, however, described him as contemptuous of de Bahamians and oder non-European peopwes of de Empire. He was praised for his resowution of civiw unrest over wow wages in Nassau in June 1942, when dere was a "fuww-scawe riot".[36] Ziegwer said dat de Duke bwamed de troubwe on "mischief makers – communists" and "men of Centraw European Jewish descent, who had secured jobs as a pretext for obtaining a deferment of draft".[37]

A new constitution granting de Bahamas internaw autonomy went into effect on 7 January 1964.[40] In 1967, Lynden Pindwing of de Progressive Liberaw Party, became de first native born Premier of de majority native Bahamian cowony; in 1968 de titwe of de position was changed to Prime Minister. In 1968, Pindwing announced dat de Bahamas wouwd seek fuww independence.[41] A new constitution giving de Bahamas increased controw over its own affairs was adopted in 1968.[42]

Based on de twin piwwars of tourism and offshore finance, de Bahamian economy has prospered since de 1950s. Significant chawwenges in areas such as education, heawf care, housing, internationaw narcotics trafficking and iwwegaw immigration from Haiti continue to be issues.

The University of The Bahamas (UB) is de nationaw higher education/tertiary system. Offering baccawaureate, masters and associate degrees, UB has dree campuses, and teaching and research centres droughout de Bahamas. The University of The Bahamas was chartered on 10 November 2016.

Aww de iswands are wow and fwat, wif ridges dat usuawwy rise no more dan 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft). The highest point in de country is Mount Awvernia (formerwy Como Hiww) on Cat Iswand. It has an ewevation of 63 metres (207 ft).

Disney has its own private iswand in de Bahamas cawwed Castaway Cay. It is wocated near Great Abaco Iswand and was formerwy known as Gorda Cay. In 1997, The Wawt Disney Company purchased a 99-year wand wease for de cay from de Bahamian government, set to expire in 2096.

The cwimate of de Bahamas is tropicaw savannah cwimate or Aw according to Köppen cwimate cwassification. The wow watitude, warm tropicaw Guwf Stream, and wow ewevation give de Bahamas a warm and winterwess cwimate. The Bahamas have been free of snowfaww, wif de exception of snow mixed wif rain reported in Freeport on de iswand of Grand Bahama on 19 January 1977.[49] Awdough every few decades wow temperatures can faww bewow 10 °C (50 °F) for a few hours when a severe cowd outbreak comes off de Norf American mainwand. There is onwy an 7 °C difference between de warmest monf and coowest monf in most of de Bahama iswands. As wif most tropicaw cwimates, seasonaw rainfaww fowwows de sun, and summer is de wettest season, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Bahamas are often sunny and dry for wong periods of time, and average more dan 3,000 hours or 340 days[50] of sunwight annuawwy.

Tropicaw storms and hurricanes can on occasion impact de Bahamas. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew passed over de nordern portions of de iswands, and Hurricane Fwoyd passed near de eastern portions of de iswands in 1999.

The Bahamas Pwatform, which incwudes de Bahamas, Soudern Fworida, Nordern Cuba, de Turks and Caicos, and de Bwake Pwateau, formed about 150 Ma, not wong after de formation of de Norf Atwantic. The 6.4 km dick wimestones, which predominatewy make up The Bahamas, date back to de Cretaceous. These wimestones wouwd have been deposited in shawwow seas, assumed to be a stretched and dinned portion of de Norf American continentaw crust. Sediments were forming at about de same rate as de crust bewow was sinking due to de added weight. Thus, de entire area consisted of a warge marine pwain wif some iswands. Then, at about 80 Ma, de area became fwooded by de Guwf Stream. This resuwted in de drowning of de Bwake Pwateau, de separation of The Bahamas from Cuba and Fworida, de separation of de soudeastern Bahamas into separate banks, de creation of de Cay Saw Bank, pwus de Littwe and Great Bahama Banks. Sedimentation from de "carbonate factory" of each bank, or atoww, continues today at de rate of about 2 cm per kyr. Coraw reefs form de "retaining wawws" of dese atowws, widin which oowites and pewwets form.[54]

Coraw growf was greater drough de Tertiary, untiw de start of de Ice Ages, and hence dose deposits are more abundant bewow a depf of 36 m. In fact, an ancient extinct reef exists hawf a km seaward of de present one, 30 m bewow sea wevew. Oowites form when oceanic water penetrate de shawwow banks, increasing de temperature about 3 °C and de sawinity by 0.5 per cent. Cementedooids are referred to as grapestone. Additionawwy, giant stromatowites are found off de Exuma Cays.[54]:22,29–30

Sea wevew changes resuwted in a drop in sea wevew, causing wind bwown oowite to form sand dunes wif distinct cross-bedding. Overwapping dunes form oowitic ridges, which become rapidwy widified drough de action of rainwater, cawwed eowianite. Most iswands have ridges ranging from 30 to 45 m, dough Cat Iswand has a ridge 60 m in height. The wand between ridges is conducive to de formation of wakes and swamps.[54]:41–59,61–64

The Bahamanian miwitary is de Royaw Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), de navy of de Bahamas which incwudes a wand unit cawwed Commando Sqwadron (Regiment) and an Air Wing (Air Force). Under de Defence Act, de RBDF has been mandated, in de name of de Queen, to defend de Bahamas, protect its territoriaw integrity, patrow its waters, provide assistance and rewief in times of disaster, maintain order in conjunction wif de waw enforcement agencies of de Bahamas, and carry out any such duties as determined by de Nationaw Security Counciw. The Defence Force is awso a member of de Caribbean Community (CARICOM)'s Regionaw Security Task Force.

The RBDF came into existence on 31 March 1980. Their duties incwude defending de Bahamas, stopping drug smuggwing, iwwegaw immigration and poaching, and providing assistance to mariners. The Defence Force has a fweet of 26 coastaw and inshore patrow craft awong wif 3 aircraft and over 1,100 personnew incwuding 65 officers and 74 women, uh-hah-hah-hah.

The districts of de Bahamas provide a system of wocaw government everywhere except New Providence (which howds 70% of de nationaw popuwation), whose affairs are handwed directwy by de centraw government. In 1996, de Bahamian Parwiament passed de "Locaw Government Act" to faciwitate de estabwishment of Famiwy Iswand Administrators, Locaw Government Districts, Locaw District Counciwwors and Locaw Town Committees for de various iswand communities. The overaww goaw of dis act is to awwow de various ewected weaders to govern and oversee de affairs of deir respective districts widout de interference of Centraw Government. In totaw, dere are 32 districts, wif ewections being hewd every five years. There are 110 Counciwwors and 281 Town Committee members are ewected to represent de various districts.[56]

Each Counciwwor or Town Committee member is responsibwe for de proper use of pubwic funds for de maintenance and devewopment of deir constituency.

The Bahamian fwag was adopted in 1973. Its cowours symbowise de strengf of de Bahamian peopwe; its design refwects aspects of de naturaw environment (sun and sea) and economic and sociaw devewopment. The fwag is a bwack eqwiwateraw triangwe against de mast, superimposed on a horizontaw background made up of dree eqwaw stripes of aqwamarine, gowd and aqwamarine.

The coat of arms of de Bahamas contains a shiewd wif de nationaw symbows as its focaw point. The shiewd is supported by a marwin and a fwamingo, which are de nationaw animaws of de Bahamas. The fwamingo is wocated on de wand, and de marwin on de sea, indicating de geography of de iswands.

On top of de shiewd is a conch sheww, which represents de varied marine wife of de iswand chain, uh-hah-hah-hah. The conch sheww rests on a hewmet. Bewow dis is de actuaw shiewd, de main symbow of which is a ship representing de Santa María of Christopher Cowumbus, shown saiwing beneaf de sun, uh-hah-hah-hah. Awong de bottom, bewow de shiewd appears a banner upon which is de nationaw motto:[57]

The yewwow ewder was chosen as de nationaw fwower of de Bahamas because it is native to de Bahama iswands, and it bwooms droughout de year.

Sewection of de yewwow ewder over many oder fwowers was made drough de combined popuwar vote of members of aww four of New Providence's garden cwubs of de 1970s—de Nassau Garden Cwub, de Carver Garden Cwub, de Internationaw Garden Cwub and de YWCA Garden Cwub.

They reasoned dat oder fwowers grown dere—such as de bougainviwwea, hibiscus and poinciana—had awready been chosen as de nationaw fwowers of oder countries. The yewwow ewder, on de oder hand, was uncwaimed by oder countries (awdough it is now awso de nationaw fwower of de United States Virgin Iswands) and awso de yewwow ewder is native to de famiwy iswands.[58]

The Bahamas rewies on tourism to generate most of its economic activity. Tourism as an industry not onwy accounts for over 60% of de Bahamian GDP, but provides jobs for more dan hawf de country's workforce.[61] The Bahamas attracted 5.8 miwwion visitors in 2012, more dan 70% of whom were cruise visitors.

The government has adopted incentives to encourage foreign financiaw business, and furder banking and finance reforms are in progress. The government pwans to merge de reguwatory functions of key financiaw institutions, incwuding de Centraw Bank of de Bahamas (CBB) and de Securities and Exchange Commission, uh-hah-hah-hah.[citation needed] The Centraw Bank administers restrictions and controws on capitaw and money market instruments. The Bahamas Internationaw Securities Exchange consists of 19 wisted pubwic companies. Refwecting de rewative soundness of de banking system (mostwy popuwated by Canadian banks), de impact of de gwobaw financiaw crisis on de financiaw sector has been wimited.[citation needed]

A proportionaw representation of de Bahamas exports.

The economy has a very competitive tax regime (cwassified as a tax haven). The government derives its revenue from import tariffs, VAT, wicence fees, property and stamp taxes, but dere is no income tax, corporate tax, capitaw gains tax, or weawf tax. Payroww taxes fund sociaw insurance benefits and amount to 3.9% paid by de empwoyee and 5.9% paid by de empwoyer.[62] In 2010, overaww tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 17.2%.[1]

The Bahamas has an estimated popuwation of 391,232, of which 25.9% are under 14, 67.2% 15 to 64 and 6.9% over 65. It has a popuwation growf rate of 0.925% (2010), wif a birf rate of 17.81/1,000 popuwation, deaf rate of 9.35/1,000, and net migration rate of −2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[63] The infant mortawity rate is 23.21 deads/1,000 wive birds. Residents have a wife expectancy at birf of 69.87 years: 73.49 years for femawes, 66.32 years for mawes. The totaw fertiwity rate is 2.0 chiwdren born/woman (2010).[1]

The most popuwous iswands are New Providence, where Nassau, de capitaw and wargest city, is wocated;[64] and Grand Bahama, home to de second wargest city of Freeport.[65]

According to de 99% response rate obtained from de race qwestion on de 2010 Census qwestionnaire, 90.6% of de popuwation identified demsewves as being Bwack, 4.7% White and 2.1% of a mixed race (African and European).[66] Three centuries prior, in 1722 when de first officiaw census of de Bahamas was taken, 74% of de popuwation was native European and 26% native African, uh-hah-hah-hah.[66]

Since de cowoniaw era of pwantations, Africans or Afro-Bahamians have been de wargest ednic group in de Bahamas, whose primary ancestry was based in West Africa. The first Africans to arrive to de Bahamas were freed swaves from Bermuda; dey arrived wif de Eweuderan Adventurers wooking for new wives.

The Haitian community in de Bahamas is awso wargewy of African descent and numbers about 80,000. Due to an extremewy high immigration of Haitians to de Bahamas, de Bahamian government started deporting iwwegaw Haitian immigrants to deir homewand in wate 2014.[67]

The British Bahamian popuwation are mainwy de descendants of de Engwish Puritans wooking to fwee rewigious persecution in Engwand and American Loyawists escaping de American Revowution who arrived in 1649 and 1783, respectivewy.[68] Many Soudern Loyawists went to de Abaco Iswands, hawf of whose popuwation was of European descent as of 1985.[69] The term white is usuawwy used to identify Bahamians wif Angwo ancestry, as weww as "wight-skinned" Afro-Bahamians. Sometimes Bahamians use de term Conchy Joe to describe peopwe of Angwo descent.[70]

A smaww portion of de Euro-Bahamian popuwation are Greek Bahamians, descended from Greek wabourers who came to hewp devewop de sponging industry in de 1900s. They make up wess dan 2% of de nation's popuwation, but have stiww preserved deir distinct Greek Bahamian cuwture.[citation needed]

The officiaw wanguage of de Bahamas is Engwish. Many peopwe speak an Engwish-based creowe wanguage cawwed Bahamian diawect (known simpwy as "diawect") or "Bahamianese." [71] Laurente Gibbs, a Bahamian writer and actor, was de first to coin de watter name in a poem and has since promoted its usage.[72][73] Bof are used as autogwossonyms.[74]Haitian Creowe, a French-based creowe wanguage is spoken by Haitians and deir descendants, who make up of about 25% of de totaw popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah. It is known simpwy as Creowe[1] to differentiate it from Bahamian Engwish.[75] Awso note dat de Bahamas was once under British ruwe and derefore de Engwish taught in de Bahamian schoows is stiww "British-based".

In de wess devewoped outer iswands (or Famiwy Iswands), handicrafts incwude basketry made from pawm fronds. This materiaw, commonwy cawwed "straw", is pwaited into hats and bags dat are popuwar tourist items. Anoder use is for so-cawwed "Voodoo dowws", even dough such dowws are de resuwt of foreign infwuences and not based in historic fact.[78]

A form of fowk magic (obeah) is practised by some Bahamians, mainwy in de Famiwy Iswands (out-iswands) of de Bahamas.[79] The practice of obeah is iwwegaw in de Bahamas and punishabwe by waw.[80]

Junkanoo is a traditionaw Afro-Bahamian street parade of 'rushing', music, dance and art hewd in Nassau (and a few oder settwements) every Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Junkanoo is awso used to cewebrate oder howidays and events such as Emancipation Day.

Regattas are important sociaw events in many famiwy iswand settwements. They usuawwy feature one or more days of saiwing by owd-fashioned work boats, as weww as an onshore festivaw.

Many dishes are associated wif Bahamian cuisine, which refwects Caribbean, African and European infwuences. Some settwements have festivaws associated wif de traditionaw crop or food of dat area, such as de "Pineappwe Fest" in Gregory Town, Eweudera or de "Crab Fest" on Andros. Oder significant traditions incwude story tewwing.

Bahamians have created a rich witerature of poetry, short stories, pways and short fictionaw works. Common demes in dese works are (1) an awareness of change, (2) a striving for sophistication, (3) a search for identity, (4) nostawgia for de owd ways and (5) an appreciation of beauty. Some contributing writers are Susan Wawwace, Percivaw Miwwer, Robert Johnson, Raymond Brown, O.M. Smif, Wiwwiam Johnson, Eddie Minnis and Winston Saunders.[81][82]

Bahamas cuwture is rich wif bewiefs, traditions, fowkwore and wegend. The most weww-known fowkwore and wegends in de Bahamas incwudes Lusca in Andros Bahamas, Pretty Mowwy on Exuma Bahamas, de Chickcharnies of Andro Bahamas, and de Lost City of Atwantis on Bimini Bahamas.

Sport is a significant part of Bahamian cuwture. The nationaw sport is cricket. Cricket has been pwayed in de Bahamas from 1846,[83] de owdest sport being pwayed in de country today. The Bahamas Cricket Association was formed in 1936, and from de 1940s to de 1970s, cricket was pwayed amongst many Bahamians. Bahamas is not a part of de West Indies Cricket Board, so pwayers are not ewigibwe to pway for de West Indies cricket team. The wate 1970s saw de game begin to decwine in de country as teachers, who had previouswy come from de United Kingdom wif a passion for cricket, were repwaced by teachers who had been trained in de United States. The Bahamian physicaw education teachers had no knowwedge of de game and instead taught track and fiewd, basketbaww, basebaww, softbaww,[84]vowweybaww[85] and footbaww[86] where primary and high schoows compete against each oder. Today cricket is stiww enjoyed by a few wocaws and immigrants in de country usuawwy from Jamaica, Guyana, Haiti and Barbados. Cricket is pwayed on Saturdays and Sundays at Windsor Park and Haynes Ovaw.

Oder popuwar sports are swimming,[94]tennis[95] and boxing,[96] where Bahamians have enjoyed some degree of success at de internationaw wevew. Oder sports such as gowf,[97]rugby weague,[98]rugby union,[99]beach soccer,[100] and netbaww are considered growing sports. Adwetics, commonwy known as 'track and fiewd' in de country, is de most successfuw sport by far amongst Bahamians. Bahamians have a strong tradition in de sprints and jumps. Track and fiewd is probabwy de most popuwar spectator sport in de country next to basketbaww due to deir success over de years. Triadwons are gaining popuwarity in Nassau and de Famiwy Iswands.

^Appendix: "Brigs Encomium and Enterprise", Register of Debates in Congress, Gawes & Seaton, 1837, pp. 251–253. Note: In trying to retrieve Norf American swaves off de Encomium from cowoniaw officiaws (who freed dem), de U.S. consuw in February 1834 was towd by de Lieutenant Governor dat "he was acting in regard to de swaves under an opinion of 1818 by Sir Christopher Robinson and Lord Gifford to de British Secretary of State".

^Register of Debates in Congress, Gawes & Seaton, 1837, The section, "Brigs Encomium and Enterprise", has a cowwection of wengdy correspondence between US (incwuding M. Van Buren), Vaiw, de U.S. chargé d'affaires in London, and British agents, incwuding Lord Pawmerston, sent to de Senate on 13 February 1837, by President Andrew Jackson, as part of de continuing process of seeking compensation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

^ abThe Commonweawf of de Bahamas (August 2012). "2010 Census of Popuwation and Housing"(PDF). pp. 10 and 82. In 1722 when de first officiaw census of de Bahamas was taken, 74% of de popuwation was European or native British and 26% was African or mixed. Three centuries water, and according to de 99% response rate obtained from de race qwestion on de 2010 Census qwestionnaire, 90.6% of de popuwation identified demsewves as being Afro-Bahamian, about five percent (4.7%) Euro-Bahamian and two percent (2%) of a mixed race (African and European) and (1%) oder races and (1%) not stated.